US set to revive California clean car authority
President Joe Biden's administration is proposing to restore California's authority to set its own greenhouse gas standards for cars and trucks, in a first step of a plan to write tougher rules for the auto sector.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today proposed to repeal a 2019 rule that said federal law pre-empted California's ability to set its own auto rules. The pre-emption was the first part of President Donald Trump's decision to weaken fuel-economy standards and sought to assure automakers they would only have to follow one set of rules.
But NHTSA says it now has "substantial doubts" it ever had pre-emption authority, and even if it did, it no longer believes the rule is warranted. The proposal will go through a 30-day comment period, putting the agency on track to rescind the rule and resolve litigation brought by California and other states as early as this summer.
"The transportation sector is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases in our economy, which means it can and must be a big part of the climate solution," US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
NHTSA is separately with the US Environmental Protection Agency to jointly propose tougher fuel-economy and greenhouse gas rules for cars and pickup trucks by July, to replace Trump-era standards that would only require fuel-economy to climb by 1.5pc/yr. The replacement rules are expected to support Biden's efforts to encourage a switch toward electric vehicles.
"I see autoworkers building the next generation of electric vehicles, and electricians installing nationwide for 500,000 charging stations along our highways," Biden said today during a virtual summit focused on climate change.
Automakers had largely supported the pre-emption rule when it was drafted, but abandoned their defense when Biden was elected and outlined plans to switch toward electric vehicles. But the industry is pressuring Biden to set the revised fuel-economy targets midway between the 1.5pc/yr increase sought by Trump and the 5pc/yr increase set under former president Barack Obama.
Environmentalists cheered the Biden administration's plans to withdraw the pre-emption rule, which they say will encourage California to pursue new ideas such as its zero emission vehicle standard. "California has played a time-tested role in establishing standards that reduce the harmful pollution from cars and trucks," Environmental Defense Fund senior attorney Alice Henderson said.
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Indonesia's Pertamina to complete gasoline unit in Aug
Indonesia's Pertamina to complete gasoline unit in Aug
Singapore, 25 April (Argus) — Indonesian state-controlled refiner Pertamina aims to finish building its new 90,000 b/d residual fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) in the Balikpapan refinery in August, the firm said. The RFCC is a gasoline production unit, which typically uses residual fuel as a feedstock. The unit will be able to produce propylene, LPG and 92R gasoline that will meet the Euro V specifications, said Pertamina last week, without disclosing further details such as the start-up date. The newly built RFCC unit will be the largest in Indonesia, with the second-largest being the 83,000 b/d RFCC in Balongan and the third-largest the 54,000 b/d RFCC in Cilacap. The new RFCC will also help reduce Indonesia's reliance on gasoline imports. Indonesia currently imports around 9mn-11mn bl/month of gasoline, making it the largest gasoline buyer in the Asia-Pacific. The new RFCC will increase Pertamina's gasoline production by a conservative estimate of 45,000 b/d or 1.3mn bl, or around 10pc of Pertamina's current import demand, according to estimates from an oil analyst. The installation of the new RFCC is part of Pertamina's Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP), which will take place in two phases. The first phase includes revamping existing units at the Balikpapan refinery, such as the crude distillation unit, vacuum distillation unit, and hydrocracking unit. It also involves building new units, such as the aforementioned RFCC, a gasoline hydrotreater, diesel hydrotreater, and naphtha hydrotreater. The second phase includes building a new residue desulphurisation unit. The RDMP also includes expanding the capacity of the Balikpapan refinery from 260,000 b/d to 350,000 b/d, said Pertamina's chief executive officer Nicke Widyawati. The Balikpapan expansion is expected to be completed in May. By Aldric Chew Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Barge delays at Algiers lock near New Orleans
Barge delays at Algiers lock near New Orleans
Houston, 24 April (Argus) — Barges are facing lengthy delays at the Algiers lock near New Orleans as vessels reroute around closures at the Port Allen lock and the Algiers Canal. Delays at the Algiers Lock —at the interconnection of the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway— have reached around 37 hours in the past day, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers' lock report. Around 50 vessels are waiting to cross the Algiers lock. Another 70 vessels were waiting at the nearby Harvey lock with a six-hour wait in the past day. The closure at Port Allen lock has spurred the delays, causing vessels to reroute through the Algiers lock. The Port Allen lock is expected to reopen on 28 April, which should relieve pressure on the Algiers lock. Some traffic has been rerouted through the nearby Harvey lock since the Algiers Canal was closed by a collapsed powerline, the US Coast Guard said. The powerline fell on two barges, but no injuries or damages were reported. The wire is being removed by energy company Entergy. The canal is anticipated to reopen at midnight on 25 April. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Cepsa supplies HVO bunker fuel in Algeciras
Cepsa supplies HVO bunker fuel in Algeciras
London, 24 April (Argus) — Spanish refiner and bunker fuel supplier Cepsa has recently delivered 150t of 100pc hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) by truck to the Ramform Hyperion at the port of Algeciras. The supply follows market participants reporting firmer buying interest for HVO as a marine fuel from ferry lines in the Mediterranean in recent sessions. The supplied HVO is said to be of class II, with used cooking oil (UCO) as the feedstock. Cepsa added that the supply was completed in cooperation with Bunker Holding subsidiary Glander International Bunkering, and could bring about a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of up to 90pc compared with conventional fuel oil. Cepsa will also look to obtain capability to supply marine biodiesel blends exceeding 25pc biodiesel content by the end of the year, delegates heard at the International Bunker Conference (IBC) 2024 in Norway. This also follows plans by Cepsa to build a 500,000 t/yr HVO plant in Huelva , set to start production in the first half of 2026. Argus assessed the price of class II HVO on a fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) basis at an average of $1,765.54/t in April so far, a premium of $906.41/t to marine gasoil (MGO) dob Algeciras prices in the same month. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iraq to keep 3.3mn b/d crude export cap until year end
Iraq to keep 3.3mn b/d crude export cap until year end
Dubai, 24 April (Argus) — Iraq will stick to its pledge to cap crude exports at 3.3mn b/d until the end of the year, regardless of what the Opec+ coalition decides at its June meeting, sources with knowledge of the matter told Argus. Baghdad announced the 3.3mn b/d export limit last month , representing a 100,000 b/d cut compared with the first-quarter average. April's exports will be in line with recent months, according to the sources, indicating that Iraq has yet to adhere to the cap. The self-imposed limit on exports is part of Iraq's commitment to compensate for exceeding its 4mn b/d Opec+ production target in the first three months of 2024. It produced 211,000 b/d above target in January, then overshot by 217,000 b/d and 194,000 b/d in February and March, respectively, according to an average of secondary sources including Argus . Prior to that, Iraq exceeded its then 4.22mn b/d output ceiling in each of the last six months of 2023. The persistent overproduction has drawn scrutiny within Opec+, prompting repeated reassurances from Baghdad in recent months that it is committed to its output pledges. Iraq blames it on its inability to oversee production in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in the north of the country. Most Iraqi Kurdish crude output is being directed to local refineries or sold on the black market following the closure of the export pipeline that links oil fields in northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan just over a year ago. Iraq's federal oil ministry says its Kurdish counterpart has stopped providing production data. Baghdad recently sent the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) an official request to hand over oil produced in the region to federal marketer Somo in order to resume Kurdish exports through Turkey, the sources said. Baghdad also urged the KRG back in January to curb output to help Iraq adhere to its lower Opec+ production quota. Ever-widening gap The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (Apikur) said international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the region were hoping that a long-awaited visit to Baghdad by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 22 April might help pave the way for a restart in exports. "We definitely believe the Iraqi government seems more serious about resolving the issues after prime minister [Mohammed Shia] al-Sudani's visit to the US," an IOC source told Argus. But differences between the KRG and Baghdad, mainly over contracts that the former signed with international oil companies (IOCs) in Kurdistan, continue to delay the restart. And tensions between the two sides show little sign of easing. In a statement on 22 April, the KRG's ministry of natural resources accused Baghdad of misleading statements by seeking to blame the KRG for the export shut-in, adding that there is no provision in Iraq's constitution that gives power to the federal government to approve contracts issued by the KRG. With the help of multiple federal court rulings, Baghdad has been attempting to downgrade the KRG's autonomy over its finances and energy sector. A court ruling in February 2022 overturned a law governing Kurdish oil and gas exports and upheld Baghdad's request that all KRG production-sharing contracts be placed under federal oil ministry oversight. The judgment rendered the KRG's 2007 oil and gas law unconstitutional, raising questions over the future of the KRG's active contracts. The KRG's natural resources ministry has dismissed the February 2022 court order, saying it was delivered by a "committee of political appointees in Baghdad". While the federal Iraqi oil ministry "publicly refers to that committee as the 'Federal Supreme Court', everyone knows that it is no such thing", the ministry said. By Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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